How to Become an Entrepreneur: 18 Ecwid Merchants Share Their Advice

If you’ve ever thought about becoming an entrepreneur, you might have wondered what it takes. It might seem like a challenge — and it is. However, more than 28 million small business owners in the US alone will assure you that even though it’s demanding, it’s also possible and worthwhile.

Here at Ecwid, we believe there’s nothing more inspiring than the words of those who’ve found their way in different types of entrepreneurship. So let us pass the microphone to successful Ecwid merchants who’ll share their knowledge and answer a short but difficult question:

How Do You Become an Entrepreneur?

Work out your costs accurately and ensure you price your products or services correctly from the outset. It’s so important not to undervalue your skills or your time, which is easy to do when you are starting out and trying to build your customer base.

Keep in mind, you don’t want to attract just any customer; you want to attract the right customer — people who appreciate the value of your products or services and are happy to pay accordingly, not those who value a bargain over quality.

There’s some kind of magic in prototyping, testing, asking lots of questions. Do it often and humbly accept whatever comes — especially the facial expressions of the testers. There will be a point when people are going to start asking if they can buy your shitty-looking prototype. It’s hard to doubt yourself after that.

Be weird. Be daring. Be the Mad Hatter. Nobody’s interested in another Italian restaurant, but everybody’s interested in an Italian restaurant underwater. The biggest risk you can take is not taking risks at all — people will smell boredom miles away, like a wounded gazelle in the savanna. Don’t let them. Be bold and unexpected.

I would like to say: One swallow does not make a summer. I am very lucky, I have the best business partner, who helps me in every situation. I attribute the firm’s success to the efforts of my partner Akshit Batra.

The biggest thing you need to realize is that it’s a hustle, you have to scrap and fight for it in the beginning. It’s never going to come easy, even if everything is online. Being resilient is absolutely the key and there is no substitute for putting in the hard yards.

In the beginning, do one thing and one thing well, and make sure every single customer is happy regardless of what it costs you. And most importantly, don’t sweat the small stuff, but look at the big picture and trust your idea.

I’ve loved miniatures since I was a child. They were my hobby for a long time, but at some point I understood the market couldn’t offer the miniatures I’d love to have in my collection.

Eventually, the efforts, the skills, and the love for miniatures resulted in Artel W. Talented 3D-sculptor Sergei Rinkov and I joined forces and turned our hobby into a profession. Our team continues to grow and we make customers happy all over the world.

In my opinion, this is the secret to a successful business — you need not only willing hands and a talent, but also a passion. You have to be truly enthusiastic about your business, grow, and be the best because you love what you do.

Being an entrepreneur requires a serious amount of sacrifice, with rewards only coming about after years of hard work. I answer emails at 2:00 a.m., stay open longer hours for customers who cannot make opening hours, and drive to their address if there are issues. It has been a hard struggle and I have learnt plenty whilst being in business, but there will be future hurdles to overcome and plenty more experience to acquire.

Becoming an entrepreneur was something that happened when my skills, my passion, and a market problem came together at the right time. I have done online marketing for my entire career, and I have always loved home renovation projects and helping other people with their renovations.

Barn doors and rolling doors have become very popular, but it is difficult to find proper advice and a large selection of styles and sizes. Viba Hardware allows me to provide expertise and advice to solve my customers’ renovation problems; Ecwid provides me with the ability to offer a ton of custom options on my products so customers can get exactly what they need to complete their dream renovation.

Everybody has a moment in their life when they say: What if… wouldn’t that be a great idea? A key to any entrepreneur is to act on that impulse idea. That doesn’t necessarily mean diving in blindly, but acting in a quick, reasonable, and methodical manner, weighing the pros and cons of that idea.

Entrepreneurs are action takers, not bystanders. Every good idea that comes from that action should result in sales, and Ecwid makes that part really easy!

I’d say that there are 3 common denominators in the successful entrepreneurs I have had the privilege to meet: high stamina, working ethics, and a hunger to constantly learn new things. I’d say that if you want to become an entrepreneur, find out what motivates you in life and be ready to work 24 hours a day for it, and then add a couple of more hours to work even more, and the success will follow. You will enjoy every second of it.

You have to be passionate about the service or product you are undertaking first and foremost. Without passion and drive, a business won’t nearly reach its fullest potential. Running out of steam along the way to keep at it when times get challenging and reality doesn’t live up to your expectations, can be detrimental — love what you do and what you provide to others, that is what will ultimately make you successful.

You have to have heart and have the courage to be vulnerable. You have to work when you don’t want to and while everyone else is asleep. Be kind and give back, stay true to yourself, and you will succeed.

Becoming an entrepreneur is not the hard part. I believe we are all creative and have that entrepreneurial spirit at heart. The hard part is taking an idea, putting it into action, and committing to the journey.

My business Think Love Live began with an idea in 2015: stylish, ethical, eco-friendly, and affordable clothes for all women. It took time and energy to bring this ideal to action, and I soon realized that I needed an entrepreneurial community to test ideas and to support the wins and the failures.

My advice is to be open, be fearless, and not to think people are out to steal your idea. Get out from behind that computer and ask for help. We need other people and I have found that a community of entrepreneurs is better than riding solo. You will be surprised how many people want to see you succeed. Good luck!

Have an original idea that you are passionate about. Act on it, don’t wait to be ready, the only time is now! Persevere at all costs even if you fail; stand up and try again. Your biggest success will be just one step beyond your biggest failure. The only real failure is the failure of not trying.

Being in business is easy, but being passionate and always looking to grow and find new ideas to grow your business, no matter how niche your market, is sometimes more challenging.

It’s the difference between having your own business and running it successfully and most importantly enjoying it too. Without enjoyment and fulfillment, your business is just a shop window like so many others, it’s what you do with it that makes it come alive, tell its story, and attract customers to visit and come back for more.

Becoming an entrepreneur is by no means an easy option, as you will lose stability and some months will have you wondering if you made the right choice. The reward comes through the push. Push through the hard days and you will reach the good days, and the good days are what makes all the sweat worth it.

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Let’s continue in the comments: what are the main characteristics of an entrepreneur in your opinion? What do you think are the most important entrepreneurial skills? We’d love to hear your ideas and we believe many aspiring business owners would too.

About the author

Anastasia is a freelance author and writes about e-commerce, traveling, and lifestyle. In her spare time, she's a crazy cat lady and a chocolate addict.